Sherrilyn Komoda Joins Sopogy as Office Manager
Honolulu, HI – Sopogy, Inc. announced today that Sherrilyn Komoda has joined the company as its Office Manager. Prior to joining Sopogy, Ms. Komoda spent nearly five years at Energy Industries as the Hawaii Sales Manager overseeing 8 Sales Representatives on 4 islands. In her role as Hawaii Sales Manager, Sherrilyn was instrumental in establishing and maintaining some of the company’s largest accounts.

About Sopogy, Inc.
Sopogy, Inc. ( www.sopogy.org ) is a Hawaii based solar technology company founded by Energy Laboratories the “think-tech” incubator of Energy Industries. Sopogy is a manufacturer and developer of Concentrated Solar Power ( CSP ) technologies that increase the effectiveness of solar energy. Sopogy offers a cost-effective method for producing renewable electricity, drinking water from sea water and air conditioning from the power of the sun.

About Sopogy, Inc. Sopogy, Inc. (www.sopogy.org) is a Hawaii based solar technology company founded by Energy Laboratories the “think-tech” incubator of Energy Industries. Sopogy is a manufacturer and developer of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies that increase the effectiveness of solar energy. Sopogy offers a cost-effective method for producing renewable electricity, drinking water from sea water and air conditioning from the power of the sun.

Darren Kimura is not your ordinary entrepreneur. When he was just 19, he started his company, Energy Industries Holdings, Inc. and encountered many challenges such as his first rejected sale. But, through his open mind and great listening skills, he overcame many obstacles to becoming the super tech entrepreneur that he is today.

Born and raised in Hilo, Kimura got started in technology when he was a student at Waiakea Intermediate School. He worked on the early â€œAppleâ€ computer and enjoyed programming and teaching computer sciences to the faculty. When Kimura moved on to UH at Manoa, he worked in the Information and Computer Sciences Department, and that experience helped him found Nalu Communications, an earlyâ€™ stage ISP. While at Nalu, he discovered that they (and everyone else) were becoming more technocentric- using more computers, and bigger servers. and it would be a disaster if someday, all the energy supply gave way, â€œI realized at the core of technology was energy, and that disruptions in the energy supply could disrupt all opportunities in technology. From there , I became fascinated with saving , energy through conservation strategies and how to create energy efficiently.â€

Kimura loves helping people become energy-efficient. His talent saves his clients a lot of money, and then his clients use a portion of that savin to pay for his services. â€œThis is a win-win situation, not often found in business,â€ says Kimura. â€œMy work allows me to fight global warming, improve energy stability, and help future generations. These things are really important to me and being able to contribute to these goals helps me feel very satisfied about our business.â€ And satisfied he is. A typical day for Kimura is starting the day at 6 a.m. driving to town from Ewa, stopping for his morning coffee , arriving at the office at around 6:45 and answering outstanding e-mail or voicemail. He then handles back-to-back staff meetings or client appointments until 6 p.m. From 6 – 7 heâ€™s catching up and leaving for home, getting back to Ewa at around 7:30 p.m., eating dinner with his wife and daughter, and then getting back on the computer from 9 p.m. to midnight when he can really get some work done.

Kimuraâ€™s biggest challenge in his work is overcoming predispositions, namely peopleâ€™s images of the way things should be. When he started the business, Kimura struggled to get meetings with customers or even potential employees, because he was only 19 and nobody took him seriously. â€œThis is an example of the predisposition we spend a tremendous amount of time overcoming and the same can be found in our industry. Our service is to get people to take control of their energy systems, which saves them a lot of money. Yet people resist, because itâ€™s just easier to remain status quo. â€œHelping them know what they donâ€™t know is a big part of our work,â€ says Kimura.
He recalls trying to sell a large energy upgrade project to a large, local bank, and after persistently trying to get a meeting with the bank president, finally got the appointment. But not even five minutes into his presentation, the bank president stopped him, and told him how disgusted she was with his presentation. â€œShe told me that I was a terrible sales person, that I spoke too fast , that my presentation made no sense, and that she would never buy what I was selling . Then she asked me to leave and told me how I completely wasted her timeâ€ Kimura recalled.

It could easily have been the worst appointment he ever had, but it was the best lesson he ever leamed. Kimura was very discouraged. A few days after that meeting, he was still bothered by the experience and wanted closure. Kimura asked the bank president to critique him and she was brutally frank. She invited him to come back in two weeks if he cleaned up his act, so Kimura took her comments and criticisms, and two weeks later, he went back and instantly signed her up.

Kimuraâ€™s wisdom is attributed mainly to leaming a lot at an eady age. Through Kimuraâ€™s persistence and winning never-say-die attitude, he has kept a thriving energy solutions business going for 14 years now. His main goal was to create long-term energy and cost savings for
his clients , first with Energy Industries, a multidivisional, intemational company located throughout the U. Sc, Guam, and Hong Kong. Today, he is the president and CEO of Sopogy, a solar-power technology company invented and based in Hawaii, whose solar panels produce electricity and drinking water from seawater and air conditioning , and
have the potential to be the world â€™s most cost-effective and robust solar technology.

Sopogy, Inc: (Left) Jim Maskrey, Vice President of Sales and Business Development

Technology and Internet Expo – Blaisdell Exposition Hall April 13, 2007Reach 70% business, 30% consumer and a 100% High-Technology audience!
The Technology and Internet Expo is the only event throughout the State of Hawaii to offer a unique opportunity for consumers and businesses in both public and private sectors to interact, network, and explore new and future technology solutions. Showcase of New Products and Services.Through seminars, exhibits, and live presentations, the Technology and Internet Expo allows companies the opportunity to showcase their newest products and innovations live and in-person

Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair – Blaisdell Exposition Hall April 4, 2007
The Science Fair is an enrichment program which stimulates interest in science and engineering and encourages entry into a science related career. Excellence of student achievement is recognized and rewarded. Students have the opportunity to interact personally with professional scientists and engineers in the program. Exhibits at school, district, and state levels serve to educate the public about science and engineering.

Over one hundred agencies join the Hawaii Academy of Science in giving awards that total more than one hundred thousand dollars in value and include cash and scholarships, trophies, medals, certificates, journals and books. Around two hundred scientists recruited by the Academy serve as judges. An additional 75 judges from the awarding agencies also judge projects. The exhibits at the Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall are viewed by more than 5,000 people.

Hawaii State Legislature Science and Technology Fair – State Capitol April 3, 2007

Hawaii State Students Engineering Fair – Blaisdell Exposition Hall April 2, 2007
Hawai’i State Science and Engineering Fair (HSSEF) is the oldest and largest science education program in Hawai’i and continues to enjoy the support of the scientific, business, and education communities in the state. Over 6,000 students participate in the science fair program each year, with about 400 reaching the HSSEF.

About Cleantech 2007

The Cleantech Conference and Trade Show

Cleantech 2007 is a multi-disciplinary and multi-sector conference on global sustainability addressing advancements in traditional technologies, emerging technologies and clean business practices. The mission of Cleantech 2007 is to bring together the entire cleantech ecosystem with the goal of accelerating the flow of technologies from the research phase to the viable market phase. We do this by linking scientists, engineers and researchers with potential business, financial and government partners. The Cleantech ecosystem enables a growing set of knowledge-based technologies, products or services designed to improve operational performance, productivity or efficiency while reducing costs, inputs, energy consumption, waste or pollution.

Cleantech 2007 is collocated with the 10th annual Nanotech 2007 Conference, the largest nanotechnology and associated ventures and investment event in the US. The co-location of Cleantech 2007 and Nanotech 2007 is an ideal match due to many overlapping technologies and industries represented by both communities.